The Council of The Off-Topic Forums

About

Welcome to the Council of The Off-Topic Forums. You may be a mere visitor, or a council member yourself, nevertheless you can always be a part of helping out the off-topic forums, because that’s what we’re here for. We discuss problems or questions in or about the OT Forums and find solutions, answers and/or the actions that need to be taken to help OT.

Every now and then a new discussion will be brought up by either Marh, Frogmanex, Googoolyeye or Hokage4354. Council members (and council members alone) will discuss this problem and try to figure out a solution. There is no official pocket of time a discussion needs to take up, it will vary. Council members can have their own topics brought up by whispering them to me, they will be put in line with the other discussions, and will eventually be gotten to. Marh, googoolyeye, hokage4354 and Frogmanex decide when a topic is over ultimately, but if you feel we need to reach a new discussion, make sure to post it.

For non-council member users, there are ways you can contribute. If you want to bring up a topic, whisper it to me. If I think it is appropriate for discussion I will put it into reserve until the right time. Regular, non-council members users are always encouraged to contribute, they just overall have less decision-making power. If you would like to join check if we have any slots open. There will be an announcement if we want any new users to help out.

If you have any questions and concerns, or simply a topic idea, you can whisper either me, hokage4354 , Frogmanex, googoolyeye, or as an alternative you can bring something up in this thread.

This goes without saying. If you plan to contribute, please do it in a manner that is acceptable on Kongregate.

2. Be Friendly To Others

Simply because somebody’s opinion on a matter is different with yours doesn’t mean you need get angry or try to force your opinion on this person. Arguments are fine, but flaming is not okay.

3. If You Have Nothing To Contribute, Contribute Nothing

The Council of The Off-Topic is not a place for general discussion. There is clear purpose stated in the OP, and the intent of this thread is not to give space for users who want to discuss anything. If you’re discussing something, try to keep in onto the current topic.

4. If You Have Complaints, Don’t Mention Them In The Thread

If you’re against something about this thread please do not interrupt discussion by posting it here. Simply whisper or email one of the managers (Marh, Frogmanex of googoolyeye), and we’ll make sure to respond.

5. Don’t Be Afraid To Share Your Thoughts/Ideas

If you have something you want to share please don’t hold it back. All contributions on the thread are welcome.

What are ways we can make people feel less intimidated by the OT Forums, and in the bigger picture, the forums in general?

How do we encourage users to stop bumping spam threads, and how do we stop users from doing this altogether?

How do we make comfortable users of other games sites such as AG and NG? Etiquette for treating these types of new users and how not to flame their mother site.

What should we do about “rate the above user threads”? Automatic lock/deletion, or should we see how it goes? (this is a better question for those who have been around long enough to see some of our past versions of these threads)

How do we prevent trolling and major flame wars from occuring? How should it be dealt with when it has occurred?

What requirements does something need to be a game, when or when isn’t it considered okay to make it without signing up?

Should we limit story threads? If so, how and why?

How can we stop regulars from making obvious, idiotic bumps in spam threads, while we’ve already totally discouraged it?

With hokage’s obvious trolling behavior, goofing off on alts, and attitude of making others miserable, should we keep him on the council?

How do we quell the anger users have at certain others? This is making the topic of many users who have held obvious grudges against eachother, and have made it a bit more obvious than needed through many posts.

Holding private conversations in thread, when does it cross the line?

How do we resolve the overall dislike and unnecessary criticism of bumping old threads?

When and when not to report. When it’s helpful, and how you can tell if it’s a good time to report.

How far is “too far” when it comes to having fun and being relaxed in OT?

What can we do, as a forum, to show our support and appreciation for the forum moderators?

Where do we draw the line for image replies?

When do you, as a user, prefer posts to be removed vs. the thread being locked?

How do we stop people being rude on question threads, and where do we draw the line between joking and derailing a serious thread, in this situation.

How do we steer clear of users modeling OT after /b/?

When does quoting turn from being okay to being spam? Even if it isn’t intentional?

So when is it okay to post as an alt and when are you potentially breaking the rules?

How do we feel about creating threads to show off/receive criticism for stories and songs we have written?

How can we be more prepared against spontaneous spam attacks (threads/posts)- In particular, the ones that have been occurring recently?

What are your guys opinion on threads like these which seem to only exist to boost one’s post count?

What do you guys think the appropriate action of people to obvious trolling/spamming or flame wars? Should people be silenced for adding their own comments to a situation that just needs a flag? Why or Why not?

In my opinion, the OT Forums seems too based on a tier-based hierarchy. In some ways I see that the higher posters are too respected for their post count, rather than take other things into account, i.e. UzumakiNaruto, RMcD, etc. Some fears I think newcomers have is that they may get flamed, for almost anything, just because it’s their first or second post ever. I’ve also seen people get responses that are simply unfriendly, or disrespectful. The only solution I see is that more and more people need to be more friendly to each other, rather than point out each others flaws.

I like your idea Glompee, although a “view post” button should be shown in case of you wanting to see amount of posts in a user.

Or you could make it so that each user can only see their own post count. Still being able to see others post count, even if it requires clicking, is the same as having them on display.

Personally, I don’t see a problem with post counts.

What I do think is a problem is how threads are difficult to join in halfway and have a habit of going all over the place. I think that the OP of any thread needs to be at the top no matter what page you are on. It could possibly go some way towards stopping people wander into a thread and making a completely inane post.

Explain why you would think blocking posts counts would be helpful, please.

It wouldn’t. People, especially on Internet Forums, like a hierarchy. The one we have here is entirely our own fault, nobody forced it upon us. If you remove the post count, chances are the focus will switch to levels when determining a hierarchy.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with a hierarchy. OT is probably the easiest to come into as a new member, as it is the miscellaneous box of Kong. The other threads would be harder to get into, the highest probably being SD.

Explain why you would think blocking posts counts would be helpful, please.

It wouldn’t. People, especially on Internet Forums, like a hierarchy. The one we have here is entirely our own fault, nobody forced it upon us. If you remove the post count, chances are the focus will switch to levels when determining a hierarchy.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with a hierarchy. OT is probably the easiest to come into as a new member, as it is the miscellaneous box of Kong. The other threads would be harder to get into, the highest probably being SD.

Explain why you would think blocking posts counts would be helpful, please.

It wouldn’t. People, especially on Internet Forums, like a hierarchy. The one we have here is entirely our own fault, nobody forced it upon us. If you remove the post count, chances are the focus will switch to levels when determining a hierarchy.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with a hierarchy. OT is probably the easiest to come into as a new member, as it is the miscellaneous box of Kong. The other threads would be harder to get into, the highest probably being SD.

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